Tape-clamp.



E. M. HEWITT TAPE CLAMP APPLICATION FILED JULY 3. 1914.

mmmoa Patented May 25, 1915.

awuwto o E M. HEWITT Wfinaooao 41d. jig-M w,

EDGAR M. HEWITT, OF GETTYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

TAPE-CLAMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1%15.

Application filed. July 3, 1914. Serial No. 848,918.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDGAR M. Hnwrr'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gettysburg, in the county of Adams and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tape- Clamps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention comprehends certain new and useful improvements in surveyors appliances of accessories, and relates particularly to an improved means for splicing to gether portions of a metallic surveyors tape, should the same become broken when a surveyor is at work out in the field and until he can return to the station or other place where the tape can be permanently mended.

To those familiar with the art to which this invention appertains, it is well known that heretofore practically the only expedient used in connecting together the broken ends or portions of tape lines of this charac ter, has been solder, which has proved very unsatisfactory indeed, not only on account of the fact that the solder is liable not to hold, but also owing to the fact that there is not always at hand suitable tools or appliances whereby the rupture may be sealed by such means, as, for example, when the surveyor is out in the field away from a town or other place where the proper tools may be obtained.

With a knowledge of these conditions, my invention has for its primary object a simple, durable and efficient construction of clamp, designed to very securely hold the broken portions of the tape temporarily, until means for permanently mending the tape may be secured, and in such manner that any tensile strain upon the portions of the tape in a longitudinal direction such as would be imposed thereon during the use thereof, will merely tend to tighten or bind the clamp upon the inclosed portions of the tape to which it is secured.

A further object of the invention is a device of this character embodying only two very simple parts which may be very easily and cheaply manufactured and readily assembled and operated without the use of any special tools, the present embodiment of the invention requiring only a small screw driver, pen-knife or some other small instrument to quickly turn the clamping bolt to and from its operative position. And the invention also aims to generally improve devices of this character so as to render them more useful and commercially desirable.

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions, arrangements and combinations of the parts that I shall hereinafter fully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved tape clamp, the same being shown in its operative relation to two portions of a tape line which have become disrupted one from the other. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1, showing the clamping bolt in its operative position. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but with the bolt in its inoperative position.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and designated in the accompanying drawing by like reference characters.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the body portion of my improved clamp, the same being formed of any desired metal or other substance or material and being of any desired shape or design, it being illustrated in the present instance as substantially lozenge or diamond shape in longitudinal section, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. lhe body portion 1 is formed with a medially disposed and transversely extending opening 2, which, in the present instance, extends entirely therethrough, and the body portion is also formed with two longitudinally disposed passages extending entirely therethrough and intersecting the transverse opening 2, these passages being designated 8 and 4t respectively. In the present instance, the body 1 is thicker at the middle than at its ends, so as. to avoid any weakening effect which might otherwise be produced therein by the formation of the transverse opening 2 and preferably the longitudinally disposed passages 3 and 4 are undulating, as shown, and have their middle portions disposed in tangential relation to the wall of the opening 2.

Mounted for a partial rotary movement in the opening 2 is the clamping bolt 5. The shank of this bolt is substantially elliptical in cross-section and its longer axis or diameter is so formed as to snugly fit in the opening 2 without binding, while the shorter diameter or axis is preferably of a length corresponding to the distance between the passages 3 and 4: where they intersect the opening 2. The head 6 of the bolt 5 may be of any desired formation, and either exposed or counter-sunk, as in the present instance, in the one enlarged end of the opening 2, and the bolt may be operated in any desired way, as, for example, by a screw driver, pen-knife or other small instrument applied to the kerf 7 formed in the head of the bolt.

From the foregoing description in connection with the accompanying drawing, the operation of my improved clamp will be apparent, it being particularly borne in mind that the opening 2 is circular in cross section, whereas the shank of the clamping bolt 5 is elliptical but of uniform width and thickness throughout, as it is to be understood that the clamping bolt is not driven endwise with a wedge action into the opening 2, to produce the clamping action, but is .merely turned in the opening. When a tape becomes broken at any point, the ruptured ends which are here designated'A and B, respectively, are slipped into the body portion 1 with the clamping bolt 5 in the position shown in Fig. 3, the ends A and B being inserted into the body portion, in opposite directions, to points where they will overlap and pass the bolt and to any further points, as may be required. Then, a slight turn is given to the bolt 5 so as to bring it to the position illustrated in Fig,

2, where its longer axis will be disposed obliquely to the medial longitudinal plane of the body portion, whereby the said shank will bind eccentrically and tightly upon the ends A and B of the tape and manifestly, any tensile strain or pull upon the ends A and B in the direction indicated by the darts or arrows in Fig. 2, will merely tend to tighten the bolt and increase its binding action upon the tape.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a very simple, durable and eflicient construction of device for the purpose specifically described herein, and one which can be very cheaply manufactured, and the parts readily assembled and operated and not liable to get outof order.

WVhile the accompanying drawing illustrates what I believe to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but that various changes may be made in the construction, arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim. What I claim, is: A clamp for the purpose described comprising a body portion formed with a transverse opening of uniform circular formation in cross section and with two separate and distinct longitudinally disposed bowed passages which intersect said opening and which are adapted to receive respectively the broken ends of a surveyors tape, and a bolt mounted for an axial movement in said opening and provided with an elliptical shank of uniform width and thickness throughout and adapted to clamp the tape Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

